Where are the carers of the elderly going to come from?

Who is going to pay for elderly carers?

Expect the future to be one in which demographic trends – an ageing population and changes in family structures – will see three out of five people caring for other people at exactly the same time as the economy will need more of us to work longer.

There are Millions of carers out there!

There are approximately six million people providing unpaid care by looking after ill, frail or disabled family members, friends or partners . . .

• hundreds of thousands of people give up more than 50 hours a week to care for elderly relatives -they are the unseen carers of the elderly

• one in three people providing round the clock care struggle to pay basic food and utility bills, often affecting their own health and that of the person they care for

• One in five people gives up work to care, often with associated loss of income, loss of pension and loss of financial security

What is the effect of the 'Death Tax'
on carers of the elderly

If the proposed estate levy on people’s estates after their death is introduced the carers of the elderly are the people who will be forced to pay a compulsory levy on any inheritance when their relative died, even though they had not relied on the state to provide care to their loved ones.

These are the same people who really care for their own family. They have spent years of their life caring for their loved ones, but when that loved one passes away the 'death tax' would make them pay the state for care they never received.

According to the Conservatives around 70 per cent of the UK population have estates worth £23,000 or more, the level at which pensioners currently have to fund their own care. They claim that the impact on “middle Britain” of a death tax set at this cut-off point could be as high as £4.5 billion.

That means that more than 17 million families could pay ‘death taxes’ if the Government introduces an estate levy to fund elderly care.

Carers UK to the rescue . . .

Carers UK was set up by carers. Carers UK vision is for people to recognise the true value of a carer’s contribution to society and for carers to get the practical, financial and emotional support they need.

We wholeheartedly support them!

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